


The Stars Came Falling

by chezamanda



Series: The Stars Came Falling [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Doctors & Physicians, Eventual Sex, Exes with Feelings, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Morning Cuddles, Morning Sex, Oral Sex, Reunions, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:44:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6752611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chezamanda/pseuds/chezamanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With everything in her life destroyed, a doctor finds the one thing she thought she'd lost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> God, it's been *ages* since I've written Star Wars fic. Anyway, this was knocking around my head after getting the TFA blu-ray. Space exes with feelings! Friendship! Pava!
> 
> Thanks to Pamela et al for looking over this/hand holding.
> 
> Title swiped from Regina Spektor's "Samson."
> 
> The first couple chapters will be a T rating and the latter two will be more E.
> 
> See if you can spot the _Top Gun_ reference ;D

The transport ship touched ground and jolted Eira from her fitful sleep. She wondered how long she had managed to rest on their long journey to D’Qar. It hadn’t come easily since the First Order had destroyed her home planet. Around her, the other passengers gathered up their belongings and began to file out. Taala Ji, the Twi’lek medic who had been evacuated with her that day, stood and held a hand out for her. 

“Come along,” she said warmly, her Basic accented with rounded vowel sounds. 

Eira nodded and allowed Taala Ji to help her to her feet. With her bag over one shoulder, she followed her considerably taller colleague out of the ship. D’Qar’s verdant landscape and golden afternoon sunlight was a welcoming sight, and it would be home for the foreseeable future. A pang of sadness clutched at her gut, but she pushed it back down. She needed to hold herself together at least until she could be alone. Her medical training had awarded her with the ability to remain calm even in the direst of cases. However, losing the only home she had ever known wasn’t the same as dealing with a medical emergency. Added to it, the notion that she could have been on Hosnian Prime had she not taken the off-planet mission, made her blood run cold.

A member of the Resistance walked them past rows of X-wings and other ships being tended along the air strip. She caught herself looking for a familiar face among the orange clad pilots. Instead, she saw nothing but strangers. They continued on to their lodgings on the other end of the base, like the other buildings it looked more like a grassy hill with a small entrance. Inside, the first level held two rows of closet-sized rooms for other Resistance members. The woman in charge led them down to the third level where empty rooms were available. Eira and Taala Ji made up a handful of New Republic refugees who had stepped in to aid a small Resistance outpost. 

“We can walk to the dining hall together later, yes?” Taala Ji asked. Her room shared a wall with Eira’s and Eira was glad for the closeness. 

“Of course,” she said. 

She slipped into her quarters and allowed the door to close behind her. A single light on the ceiling illuminated the sparse, white room that held a narrow bed and a table to the side of it. The woman had pointed out each floor’s communal bathing areas at the end of their halls. With a heavy sigh, Eira dropped her backpack on the floor and sank down to the mattress, her arms wrapped around herself to fight off the subterranean chill.

And just as soon as she came into contact with the bed, Eira began to sob.

* * *

  
A new day began, and with it Eira’s spirits had somewhat improved. The night before, someone had delivered her new assignment schedule, and she was glad to have something to fill her days besides the gnawing sense of dread and sorrow. She met Taala Ji in the mess hall for a breakfast of bland porridge and sweet juice gathered from local fruits. It stood to reason that the Resistance had to work with what they could get, particularly with new members joining them. If anything, the food would stick with her through the morning. The fact that her appetite had returned already made her feel like she was improving, though she knew it was simply her body’s need for nourishment.

“Do you think you are ready for today?” Taala Ji asked. 

Eira could hear the concern in her voice. “Yeah, I would rather be working than sitting alone in my room.”

The pair smiled at each other across the table. Eating at long tables with the others reminded her of their days in training. All of the medical students shared meals as well as living quarters; it was a familiar, albeit less polished version of the school’s facilities. Of course, the buildings back home hadn’t been disguised as earthworks but were tall, shining buildings that reached up to the sky. Eira felt a lump form in her throat at the distant, happy memory.

As though she could sense it, and perhaps it had shown in Eira’s face, Taala Ji took her hand and gave her a sympathetic look. Hosnian Prime hadn’t been her birth home, but Eira knew that Taala Ji had lost many friends in the destruction. 

They had finished breakfast and were making their way toward the main building when she heard her name being called.

“Eira?”

She stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of that voice. It couldn't be, she thought as she turned around to see Poe staring at her. Her heart leapt up into her throat and suddenly she was running across the pavement. His embrace was exactly how she remembered it from all those years ago. Holding him felt like she had something tangible left of her past. 

“I thought…”

She tightened her arms around his shoulders. “I know.”

They stayed like that for what felt like ages until finally letting go. Unshed tears glittered in his dark eyes, and she reached up to stroke his cheek. The faint stubble suited him, as did the longer hair. Back when he had been with the Republic, the rules were much more strict and required their members to have a much neater appearance. She hadn't realized his hair was so curly. Beside him, an orange-and-white BB unit looked up at them curiously chirping.

Poe looked at the little droid. “This is Eira, I told you about her,” he said.

It beeped in response, almost sounding like it had said, “Oh!”

“How did they find you?” he asked, turning back to her. “You never planned on leaving Hosnian Prime.”

“Eira! We will be late!” Taala Ji called after her before realizing what had held Eira up. “I shall meet you inside.”

With a little sigh, Eira turned back to Poe. “She's right. I have to report to med bay,” she explained. “Could we talk later?”

He nodded. “Of course,” he answered and pulled her into another tight embrace. “I can't believe you're here.”

They said their goodbyes, and the little BB unit chirruped as she left. The rest of Eira’s day passed by in a daze of old memories that their chance meeting drudged up. Luckily for her the assignment was to see to the injured as they came in and to check on the status of others who had been released already. She didn't see Poe again until after dinner. He asked her to join him outside, and they found a stone bench not far from the entryway.

“Where’s your friend?” she asked.

“BB-8? Back at its charging station,” he said. “You wanted to talk?”

“Yeah.”

Eira detailed how she had taken the emergency job along with Taala Ji and a few others from the Republic. They had made progress in treating the contagious fever that had broken out when they saw the distant explosions of red in the sky. Reports followed shortly thereafter from their Resistance leaders at the outpost. They all had needed to get somewhere safe and as quickly as possible. 

“I’m so sorry, Eira,” he said, taking her hand. “Have you talked with anybody… well, anybody not me.”

She shook her head. “Mostly you and Taala Ji, the other officer with me,” she answered. “I lost so many friends and family back there, but I can’t stop thinking…”

“What?”

“It sounds selfish, but I can’t stop thinking what if I hadn’t gone off planet.” 

She felt that horror tighten at her throat again and closed her eyes, trying to will it to go away. Poe released her hand to put his arm around her shoulder. As good as it felt, she couldn’t hold back the hiccuping sobs that escaped. Part of her wanted to just push everything down until she couldn’t feel the pain anymore, but she knew that would never help her to move on. Wounds needed to be cleaned out before they could heal.

“You know I lost my mom when I was eight,” he began quietly once her crying had subsided, “and that felt like I’d lost my whole world. I can’t tell you how long I cried after that. But I can’t tell you that the sadness ever goes away, it just gets a little easier to deal with.”

Eira thumbed away an errant tear from her cheek. “Thanks,” she said with a sniffle. “And, objectively, I know I’ll be able to deal with it. It just seems like I’m never going to stop crying. Work’s helped a bit today.”

Poe smiled at her and she couldn’t help but smile back. She thought back to the first time that they had met. It was her first week out of training and Poe had been sent in after a mission for to treat the gash on his head that he’d received from doing something stupid. The young pilot joked with her while she cleaned and dressed the wound. Something that stood out, aside from his good looks (she was a medic but she wasn’t made of stone), was that he hadn’t tried to come onto her like a few other pilots had during her residency. If she had been totally honest with herself, she wouldn’t have minded if he had. 

After that, they ran into each other somewhat regularly on the New Republic base and eventually struck up a friendship. It always felt easy being around him, as though the two of them had known each other since childhood. He told terrible jokes and couldn’t tell a lie to save his life, but he was kind and genuine and maybe just a little cocky at times. Then came the night where she had gone with Poe and a few members of his squadron for drinks at some divey cantina. While the rest were busy playing cards, they had huddled into a corner to continue some conversation and, quite unexpectedly, Poe had kissed her. And then he immediately apologized for overstepping his bounds, but Eira shut him up with a kiss of her own.

“C’mon, I’ll walk you back,” he offered, shaking her from her memories. 

They cleaned up after themselves and crossed over to the barracks. Poe and the other pilots had the first two floors of the building, as she found out, but he was happy to walk her back to her quarters. At her door, Poe hugged her again and she tucked her head beneath his chin. They stood for a long time in the dimly lit corridor. It was possibly the best she had felt in the past week.

“What happens next?” she asked, and looked up at him. “Are they planning an attack on Starkiller Base?”

He nodded. “Working on a plan. We’ll get them, Eira. I promise.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eira begins her work on the Resistance base. The pilots have a little party the night before they attack Starkiller Base. Feels are felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T rating for this chapter.

Eira quickly fell into step with the Resistance base’s medical team over the following days. Though her pain and anger hadn't subsided, her work provided her a more productive outlet. She would see Poe from time to time and it gave her a much-needed sense of normalcy. Despite this, she could feel the tension around the base as they worked to launch a full-scale attack against the First Order. From what she overheard, reports had come in that their system was the next target and they needed to act quickly.

“We expect a delivery tomorrow,” Kalonia, the head physician and Resistance major, told Eira as she took inventory of their supplies. “I suspect we’ll need them soon.”

Eira looked around. “Have they said when the attack will happen?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

“Not exactly yet, but I believe they are close,” she said. 

Worry twisted in her gut. Of course Eira knew that it was inevitable, and necessary, for the Resistance to strike against the First Order after all that they’ve done. Without it, their reach would only spread until it consumed the entire galaxy, all those varied and colorful worlds she had only read about consumed in black and red. Countless numbers would die should they fail. And yet, her thoughts turned to Poe. He and Taala Ji were the only people left in her life. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing either of them.

She finished her shift in med bay just as dusk fell over the base. A few familiar faces greeted her along the path to the barracks. Her day had been long and she was ready for a long, hot shower and sleep. However, she knew that the shower would be neither long nor even particularly warm. Tepid, at best, on a good day. At the very least, it turned out to be empty and Eira was grateful for the privacy.

Just as she had settled down for the night, she heard a knock on her door. She sighed, throwing off the covers and went to the door to find Poe and a younger man beside him. 

“Sorry, I thought you were going to be up for a while,” Poe said, scratching nervously at the back of his neck. “It can wait.”

His friend appeared a little nervous and politely averted his eyes when he noticed Eira’s state of undress. She was covered but very clearly dressed for bed. It was kind of sweet, she thought. 

“What did you need?” she asked.

“There’s a little get together happening, I wanted to invite you,” he said. “And to meet my friend here. But you seem like you’re in for the night.”

Eira chuckled. “Just a moment.”

She shut the door and found a clean set of clothing to throw on that wasn’t her medic uniform. Outside, she could hear Poe and the other man speaking in quiet tones about her. She caught a mention of her home being destroyed by the First Order and took a deep breath to release that bit of tension that coiled inside of her.

Eira stepped back into the hallway and Poe smiled at her, making her go a little weak in the knees. That was something he had always been good at, even in the early days of their (then) strictly professional relationship, he could flash a grin that shook the sense from her otherwise level head.

“Let’s try this again - Finn, Eira,” he said gesturing between them. “Eira Pavlis, this is Finn. He saved my life.”

She extended a hand to greet him. “That’s right, the ex-Stormtrooper,” she said. “Thank you so much for saving my… friend, Finn. You don’t know what it means to me.”

“It was the right thing to do, ma’am,” he answered.

Eira smiled. “Eira, please. I don’t think I’m quite old enough or important enough to be ‘ma’am.’”

Outside, the three of them continued their conversation as they went to the dining hall. They joined the other starfighter pilots who had already finished dinner and moved onto some wine one of them had made. The wine could double as industrial strength cleaning fluid, Eira was sure of it, but it did the trick. Soon, the group had lost themselves in old war stories - mostly about how their fearless commanding officer had managed to get himself in trouble because his mouth had gotten ahead of him. 

“And then we hear the admiral screaming his head off at Dameron,” Pava said, almost beside herself with laughter at the memory. “He learned his lesson about admiral's’ daughters being no-fly zones that day.”

Eira caught Poe’s gaze across the table, and he looked away, flushing slightly. He managed to recover and goaded Finn into spilling some details about his time with the First Order. Apologizing that he wasn’t as gifted a storyteller as the pilots, Finn told a few stories of Kylo Ren’s legendary temper tantrums. She listened, though her thoughts began to turn over the look of embarrassment on Poe’s face. Why should he mind that she knew about another woman, particularly one that sounded like a one-off experience? Their relationship had ended when he defected to the Resistance. 

She still remembered the disappointment and hurt in his eyes when she explained that she couldn’t follow him. Her work was on Hosnian Prime or wherever the Republic would move its capital in the future. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she had been terrified to leave her birth home, and being a medical officer provided an excuse to stay behind. When he left, she had been angry, partly with him but mostly with herself for not following.

Poe excused himself from the table to go outside for some air. No one appeared to notice or care as they were too wrapped up in what Finn was saying. Eira did likewise and slipped out of the main entrance, finding him just a few steps away.

“An admiral’s daughter, huh?” she teased, grinning as she sidled up to him.

He sighed. “Didn’t really want you to hear that… at least not that way,” he said.

“Poe, it’s not like I laid some kind of claim on you.”

“But you... “ he caught himself and then trailed off. 

“But I what?”

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “Forget it.”

Before she had a chance to push the matter, the group of pilots stumbled out into the relatively quiet night with Finn in tow. They tried to get him to sing along with them, an old Rebellion song about defeating the Empire that she grew up hearing, as many children her age did. Finn seemed to be having a good time regardless of not knowing the words. 

“You guys take it easy on Finn, the First Order doesn’t know how to have a good time like we do,” Poe called after them.

“C’mon we’re going to the lake!” one of the guys replied, waving them over.

“In a minute!”

Eira expected the two of them to stay behind, but Poe started to follow his squad out toward the tree line. He stopped and motioned for her to follow. She knew she really should turn in for the night, however her body propelled her forward despite all good sense. They kept a distance from the rest of the boisterous group. For a moment, it felt like old times and she nearly slipped her hand in his. 

“The orders came down tonight. We’re going to stage a counter attack against Starkiller tomorrow,” he said, not looking at her.

Eira stopped in her tracks. “When were you going to tell me this?” she sounded more wounded than she had expected. “Were you going to tell me? Or was I going to wake up and find you gone again?”

“What?” he turned to stare at her then. “You chose to stay behind, Eira. I asked you to come with me and you said no. Did you expect me to drag you kicking and screaming off Hosnian Prime?”

“No! I just thought you’d put up more of a fight for me and, and…”

Poe took a step toward her, inclining his head as though he couldn’t hear her. “And what?”

“And I woke up to find the bed empty,” she said and felt her voice grow thick in her throat. “You slept with me and didn’t have the courtesy to even leave a note for me before you left.”

His shoulders dropped as he sighed. “It wasn’t… I just didn’t want to remember the hurt on your face for the rest of my life.”

Eira swiped at the tears that had welled up in the corners of her eyes. Her face burned against the cool, forest air. Everything she had thought she had gotten past suddenly reappeared in a matter of seconds. It stung and ached like a wound that hadn’t healed properly. Due to the nature of the Resistance and its need for secrecy, she had never been able to contact Poe after that day. There had been times when she thought of joining the Resistance just to get closure for herself. A few others had replaced his spot in her bed in those years, but they could never make her forget.

Poe pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m sorry for hurting you,” he said against the top of her head. “It was selfish.”

She exhaled a shaky breath, pressing her face into his chest before she looked up at him. “I-”

Before she could get the words out, one of the pilots yelled to them to stop lagging behind. Blushing, Eira pulled out of the embrace and stepped away from Poe.

“Better go before they all come after us,” Poe joked, looking a little embarrassed himself.

They rejoined the group, but Eira found herself turning that stolen moment over and over again in her head. She played along, laughing at the right moments when someone told a good story or a funny joke, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Sometimes she would meet Poe’s gaze, but quickly looked away. Worry seeped back into her consciousness as to what tomorrow might bring. There was a very real possibility Poe could be torn away from her again, but for good this time, and it sobered her. 

Later that night, Eira laid awake on her thin mattress and tried to keep the intrusive, frightening thoughts at bay until she closed her eyes. The worries that kept her awake transformed into horrible nightmares that startled her from sleep nearly every hour, sometimes two or three times in the same hour. Her world threatened to be destroyed again, but this time she knew it could happen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eira and Poe make up for lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here be smut.

“Be safe.”

“I always am,” he said with a smug little grin.

She laughed, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “No you’re not.”

Her fingers smoothed over an errant curl that stuck out at his temple. Turning his head, Poe pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand. 

BB-8 beeped at his side, rocking slightly side to side. Eira smiled at the droid. “Well if he can’t keep himself safe, I hope you can.”

It chirped back. She had never been great at understanding that particular droid language, but she had to assume it told her it would try its best. BB-8 rolled beneath the X-wing to be pulled up into the exterior seat behind the cockpit. Eira stepped away, letting Poe finish what he needed to do before they took off. Every few steps she would look back over her shoulder at him and catch him watching her leave, perhaps hoping like her, that it wouldn’t be the last time. 

 

Tension made the air inside the base feel stifling. Hours passed since their team had departed, and she did everything to keep herself from pacing the length of the building. Fear and anxiety churned inside of her gut, making her feel sick. Without anything to distract her from it, Eira could only stand with the others and listen to the reports that began to come in from Starkiller Base. 

They were quickly losing pilots and time, as the weapon had targeted their system and was charging. She worried the edge of her uniform sleeve between her thumb and forefinger. It frustrated her that she could only wait for Poe and his squadron to complete their mission, because she was too terrified to consider the alternative. She wanted to do _something_ , but her training only made her so useful. 

“It is hard, I know,” Taala Ji observed as she walked up beside her and put her arm around Eira’s shoulders; she was grateful for the contact.

Across from them, General Organa looked stricken with pain before she eased herself into a seated position. This snapped Eira right back into professional mode and she rounded the console at the center of the room. Taala Ji followed closely behind her.

“General, are you hurt?” Eira asked and knelt down at her side.

Rather than answer, the general shook her head and gently pushed Eira away. She exchanged a confused look with Taala Ji before standing and backing up. Whatever had caused that pain was something that their skills could not mend. They returned to the other side of the command center and continued to wait for news.

Minutes felt like hours between the pilots’ reports, and then she heard Poe’s voice over the speakers. They had done it. Starkiller Base was destroyed. They were coming back. Eira had to clutch at Taala Ji’s arm to steady herself but was quickly swept into a tight hug by her friend.

“Incoming injured, medical team please report to the airstrip,” another officer called over the speakers, and the team flew into action.

Outside, their transport rolled up to the Millennium Falcon just as it had touched down. Eira hopped off the edge and watched as the wookie, Chewbacca carried an injured and unconscious Finn from the ship. They eased him onto a stretcher on the back of the emergency vehicle. The girl, Rey, followed in a daze behind them. Just as Eira helped secure the stretcher, she turned to find Poe behind her and her breath caught in her throat.

“We’ve got a heartbeat!” one of the team called, and they were moving. Rey stayed behind with General Organa.

Eira took Poe’s hand without a word and jogged behind the transport toward the main building. Just being able to touch him again was enough to bring tears of relief to her eyes. She led him through to med bay. The surgical theater located through a thick pair of doors kept them separate, but they could see what was happening through one of the windows. The team, headed up by Kalonia, worked quickly and efficiently as they removed Finn’s clothing and turned him to inspect his injuries. She heard Poe’s horrified gasp when he saw the blackened gash that had been carved into his back.

“Come and sit down,” she told him firmly, placing a hand on his elbow. “He’s in good hands.”

She moved him over to one of the exam tables and proceeded to check his vitals. With the adrenalin undoubtedly pulsing through his system, he could have been unaware of injuries, serious or not. She checked at his hairline then his vision to ensure he hadn’t sustained any head trauma. Poe tried getting around her to go watch what the other medics were doing to Finn, but she caught him and urged him to sit down.

“Let them work,” she said. “I need to make sure _you’re_ okay.”

“I’m fine, Eira,” he protested. “Is he going to…”

“I don’t believe so,” she said, softening. “I’ve never seen damage like that but the fact that he’s still breathing makes me hopeful.”

Poe blinked back tears and she enfolded him in a tight hug, letting him unload that grief on her. Her heart broke for him. Even with all he had been able to do, she knew it had to scare that his friend was so badly wounded. He had lost team members, too, and he always took those losses hard, as though he were personally responsible for their safety. She stroked his hair and kissed the top of his head, whispering comforting words and hoped that they might help even a little. 

After a long moment, Poe looked up at her. His eyes had gone red and watery, and she used the hem of her sleeve to brush the tears from his face. The mood shifted then, all of that fear and worry in his eyes changed into a look that she remembered all too well. He tugged her down to his mouth in a fierce kiss that stole the breath from her lungs. She gasped at first, then all but melted into his arms just as easily as she had years before.

Desperate for air, Eira broke the kiss eventually and pressed her forehead against his with a smile. She saw him open his mouth to speak, but another member of the Resistance interrupted their solitude. Poe apologized before he slipped away from her and into the command room. She returned her attention to her team, and went to the window to observe as they finished patching Finn up. 

Kalonia was the first to exit the sterile room and inform Eira that Finn was stable, doing well, but until he woke they would not know the full extent of the damage. Though she was older, she had little experience with damage from lightsabers whereas Eira had only read about them once in an old medical text. From that, she had learned that victims bled very little because the blade cauterized their wounds, but the damage was still significant. The team brought Finn, now dressed in clean linens, out to a quiet corner of the room where he could recuperate. 

Eira excused herself and found Poe with the rest of their leaders examining a star system map above the central console. She waited until the meeting had finished to bring him back, telling him of Finn’s condition. BB-8 followed behind them. Half of her team worked to clean up the surgical theater while the other sought out the other members of the squadron to assess their injuries. Eira made a move to join them after she had seated Poe at Finn’s bedside.

“Stay,” he said softly. “Please?”

“Of course.”

* * *

Rey and General Organa relieved them some time later, taking their place at Finn’s side. They both looked exhausted and deeply saddened despite the victory. Whispers had gone through her team that Han Solo had sacrificed himself for the mission. She then understood why General Organa had been in such pain hours before.

“I'd like to thank you for everything you've done, Doctor Pavlis,” she said, still somehow regal regardless of the experience. She gave Eira’s hand a firm touch, holding it between both of hers. 

“I'm afraid I've only done so much,” Eira replied and felt a little flustered for such high praise. “My team helped Finn.”

The General’s gaze shifted between her and Poe. “You appear to be a great comfort to my pilot, and you've helped even after experiencing a great personal loss. For that, I thank you.”

Eira blushed and inclined her head. “Please let me know if I can do anything,” she said, and looked warmly at Rey who stood quietly at General Organa’s side, “for either of you.”

At that, Eira left them to their vigil, and walked out of the building with Poe at her side. He instructed the little droid to head to the charging station for the night, thanking it for its help that day. Night had fallen in the meantime, and celebrations were well underway. She might have joined them but her body felt tired and wrung out. 

“Go on,” she urged Poe. “You should go say something.”

He shook his head. “They're fine without me for a while.”

With that, he led her by the hand to the barracks. His quarters were a little larger than her own, though not by much. He kissed her again, cradling her face in his palm and a wave of dizziness swept through her. She gripped at the material of his jumpsuit as he claimed her mouth; it was all she could do to keep herself standing. Dread crept back into her thoughts, and she wondered how close she had really been to losing him forever. Rather than let it win, Eira took that emotion and let it stoke her desire for him. He was here and he was real and she needed him more than ever.

Her hands tugged at fastenings and zippers until she had the suit pulled halfway down his body. Somehow she had managed to lose her touch at getting him quickly out of uniform, and the two of them fumbled with each other’s clothing until they wound up a heap of orange and dull brown on the floor. She laughed breathlessly as he maneuvered them down to the bed with her sprawled across his lap. Their mouths found each other once more, both groaning as their bodies made contact.

She inhaled sharply as his teeth closed over that pulse point in her neck that was always so sensitive. They relearned the feeling of each other’s bare skin. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed the feeling of running her fingers through his hair until that moment. His hands were warm and slightly rough at her back, that slight friction sending a shiver down her spine. She studied the changes that had appeared in her absence. Harder, more defined ridges of muscle had grown along his chest and abdomen. Her fingers found new scars and traced over ones she knew. Heat flashed through her and she ached for him, each roll of her hips a silent plea for him to take her.

Eira reached down between them, wrapping her hand around his cock, and he sucked in a sharp breath as though she'd burned him. Sitting up on her knees, she guided him into her entrance with one hand while the other held onto his shoulder. He looked at her with a mixture of desire and sheer agony on his face, all but begging her to stop drawing it out. But no, she wanted to relish this moment as much as possible. She always loved that first stretch of him inside her, and no one else had quite measured up. 

As she slowly sank down onto him, Eira let out a low, satisfied moan against his ear and he responded in kind. How were they so perfectly made for each other? 

“I've missed this,” he groaned before sinking his hands into her hair and kissing her. 

Eira gave an experimental roll of her hips as he brushed his tongue against her own. It had been a while since anyone had been inside of her and her inner walls ached faintly. He moved from her mouth to the column of her throat as she rocked in his lap. 

“This is gonna end real quick if you don't stop that,” he warned with a soft laugh after she clenched up around him. 

She kissed him. “We have all night,” she purred. “I seem to remember you keeping me up before a lot of my clinic shifts. Still got it in you?”

Never one to back down from a challenge, Poe’s hands tightened on her and he began working her on his cock. She yelped, but loved it all the same. As she arched back, his lips latched onto the tip of one breast and sucked hard. Desire pooled hot at the base of her, and she knew she had to be making an unholy racket beneath his touch. She didn't care because never had she expected to have him, to have _this_ again and she wanted to enjoy it. 

Poe moved her onto her back against the thin mattress, and she wrapped her legs up around his hips to draw him closer. He held onto the frame just above her head and drove himself over and over again into her cunt, his breathing ragged and desperate just as her own. She reached down between their bodies and rubbed at her aching little bud, already close to her own climax. That same telltale hitch in his breathing told her he was ready to go at any moment. 

“That's it, come inside me,” she breathed against his ear, and he shuddered above her. “I love you so much.”

At that, Poe came with a shout, spilling into her, warm and thick. She followed suit, her walls contracting around his throbbing cock and she cried out sharply when it all became too much. He collapsed on top of her, the both of them panting for breath and unable to do more than just lay there in a boneless heap. 

Eira lazily stroked his hair for a few long moments before he stirred. He said something but the words were muffled by her skin. “What was that?” she asked. 

“Say it again,” he told her after bringing his head up to look at her. “What you said before.”

She beamed at him, stroking her fingers against his cheek. “I love you.”

The brilliant smile he gave her in return made her heart ache. “I love you too,” he said. “Even after I left, I never stopped.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she pulled him down for another kiss. For once, she was glad to be crying. They spent the rest night making the most of the cramped bed, but neither of them really cared about the narrow mattress. That night, she fell into the first peaceful sleep she’d had in awhile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beginning over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, more smut. And more feels.

Eira became aware of the warmth of another body curled up behind her as she slowly woke. Memories of the previous night flooded back into her head and she grinned to herself. The first time she had spent the night with Poe, they had picked a day when Taala Ji would not be in their shared apartment. What they hadn’t counted on was that she returned early from her assignment and walked in on a very naked Republic pilot making breakfast in the kitchen. Eira had been beside herself with laughter the rest of that day.

“Morning,” Poe murmured against her shoulder. “Is it morning?”

She felt him lift his head for a moment, checking the time on a clock that sat on the shelf above their heads. He settled back down and pulled her back against him. It was still very early.

“How are you doing?” she asked, stroking her hand over his arm that he had settled over her middle. 

“Like right now or just overall? Because right now I'd say pretty good,” he said with a grin she felt against her bare shoulder. 

“Smartass. You know what I mean.”

“Better than yesterday, I guess,” he answered.

They settled into a comfortable silence, and Eira’s eyes went heavy again, lulled back by the warmth of his body. His fingers absently traced patterns over her side. She listened to the even sound of his breathing over the distant sounds of a continued celebration outside. Clearly they were loud enough to hear through the thick layer of dirt and grass that covered the top floor of the building. Part of her was somewhat jealous that she hadn't joined in the celebration with the younger members of the Resistance, but she liked their way of celebrating a lot better. 

His thumb glanced over a particularly sensitive patch of skin and she sucked in a quiet breath. “Still ticklish,” he commented somewhat smugly. 

Lazily, he continued drawing little shapes with his fingertips. He paid special attention to her side and the slope of her belly and up to the curve of her breasts until she was shivering with want. He kissed along her shoulder, moving upward to reclaim her mouth and she sighed into the kiss. The angle required a little shifting to be comfortable but Eira managed. 

His hand slipped between her thighs where he found her already wet for him again. Her breath stuttered and she arched up against him with a drawn out mewl of pleasure. He made a similar noise the moment his fingers plunged into her cunt. A faint soreness lingered from the previous night but soon ebbed away beneath the attention. 

Eira turned her head, blindly seeking out his mouth and kissing him hungrily. Each thrust of his fingers curled tension tightly inside of her and she whimpered against his mouth. To her surprise and disappointment, he then withdrew and moved away from her toward the end of the bed. Before she had the chance to protest, he had shouldered her thighs apart to accommodate him as he settled between them. _Oh._

The first of his tongue made her come off the bed. He took little time to tease her because she was already so close. She sat up against the pillows to watch him and caught his dark gaze for a long moment before he buried himself between her thighs. Biting back a loud groan, she dropped her head back and felt the hot curls of pleasure that worked up through her body. 

He remembered exactly where and how to caress her to bring her close to the edge seemingly within seconds. His fingers slipped inside of her again, stroking her in tandem with the little licks and sucks he gave. Each time he drew that aching little bud between his lips she couldn't help but mewl. His own sounds of pleasure vibrated up through her, deep and satisfying, and only made her want him more. 

She rode his mouth, one hand tangled in that mess of dark hair that she loved so much. Eira loved everything about Poe, even when he drove her crazy outside of the bedroom. Tears sprang to her eyes as his free hand found here, grasping it tightly as though he couldn't stand not feeling that connection even for a moment. 

“I'm… I’m- _ah!_ ” she cried out, her orgasm claiming her body. 

He allowed her to ride it out, and then gently released the hand she had in his hair before pressing a kiss to her lower belly. Through heavy-lidded eyes, she watched him make his way back up her body. She tasted arousal on his mouth as they kissed, and she sighed, wrapping one leg up around his hip. Already hard just from getting her off, Poe slipped inside of her in one easy stroke that sent sparks through her veins.

What began as slow, lazy strokes quickly turned desperate and he drove his cock into her relentlessly. Though it was almost too rough in her sensitive state, she held on and begged him not to stop. His breathing was ragged against her skin where his head pressed into the crook of her neck. She directed his mouth back to hers, swallowing every moan. 

He pushed back so that he was on his knees, still wedged deeply inside of her, and settled both hands on her hips. She licked her dry, swollen lips as she grinned up at him in the dim light that came from the safety lights along the floor. The angle changed just enough that she saw stars behind her eyes, and arched up against him as he drove into her body. 

Poe came with Eira’s name on his lips, and she shivered beneath him as another climax swept through her body. She drew him back down to her, arms wrapped around him as they both caught their breaths. He captured her mouth in another long, lingering kiss as they laid there still trembling.

 

“As much as I'd like to stay here I have to work,” she said after a while. “Saving lives, tending to the wounded and all.”

“I guess if you have to go save lives,” he signed and gave her a little wink. 

Eira pulled herself reluctantly into a seated position with her feet on the cold floor. Tossing on her discarded clothes, she then leaned down to kiss Poe goodbye and very nearly ended up back in bed with him in the process. He promised to stop by later to check on Finn and, with that, she slipped out the door. 

A round of applause and drunken cheering greeted her the moment she stepped into the hallway. Frozen, Eira found herself a few steps away from a group of pilots who were gathered in the corridor. Her mouth dropped open to say something but the shock of being overheard having sex and caught leaving Poe’s room scared her voice away. She really wished she had the ability to disappear or teleport, anything to avoid what was happening. The door opened behind her and Poe stuck his head out to see what was going on. 

“Guys, go to bed!”

The other pilots grumbled and then scattered back to their quarters. Pava gave Eira a thumbs up as she passed her. Eira was certain that her face was on fire at that point. 

Poe shrugged. “They'll drop it… eventually,” he said, adding that last bit quietly. 

“I… I have to go to work,” was all she could manage before she continued down to her floor.

* * *

The incident in the hallway only made her a little late for work, but she had managed to get cleaned up and presentable before she relieved the night shift. Rey slept with her head against her arm on the side of Finn’s bed and the rest of her body in a chair. Eira assumed she had been there all night, and walked over to gently wake the girl. She startled, but seemed to relax when she got her bearings.

“Can I get you anything?” Eira asked. 

“No, I, uh… sorry,” Rey said, coloring slightly. 

She shook her head with a little smile. “It's alright. Those seats aren't terribly comfortable to sleep in.”

Rey nodded and looked back to her friend. “How is he?”

Before she answered, Eira looked at the monitors and then the notes left by her coworker from the night before in a reader with his files. All things appeared good: he was stable, had no signs of infection, and was responding to stimuli in his extremities. Rey’s eyes became wet and she nodded, thanking Eira for telling her. 

“I've got a few things to do, but feel free to stay,” Eira said. 

“Thank you.”

Eira returned to her morning duties until Taala Ji came in a little later. She asked her friend to go to the dining hall to pick up a few things, both for herself and Rey. Though the other medic eyed her strangely, she left and soon returned with two trays of food and drink. One went to the desk where it would be away from any of their instruments and the other Eira took to Rey, setting it beside her. 

“In case you're hungry,” she said and Rey gave her a small, but appreciative smile. 

Finished with what she needed to do, Eira sat down with her own breakfast and all but inhaled it. She chalked that up to her rather strenuous evening and morning. Taala Ji sidled up to her with a knowing look and leaned against the desk with her arms folded. 

“You weren’t in your quarters last night,” she commented. “And from what I overheard in the dining hall, my suspicions were confirmed.”

Eira groaned and put her face in her hands. “I’m never living this down.”

“If it’s any consolation, they all seemed very impressed,” she said and patted Eira’s shoulder.

Thankfully, that was the last mention of it for the rest of the day. Eira was happy to settle back into her schedule for a few hours. She checked on Finn to track his vitals, and reported to General Organa when she came by to visit the young man later in the morning. They spoke briefly before the general convinced Rey that she should get some much-needed sleep.

“We’ll take good care of him,” Eira reassured her.

Around midday, Eira took her meal break outside instead of sitting with the other diners. The air had grown pleasantly warm during her shift, making a nice change after being underground most of the day. Sitting cross legged on the edge of the lake, she tucked into her food and enjoyed the quiet. It gave her time to take stock of herself. Yesterday had been all over the board, but hadn’t afforded her a chance to sort out her thoughts. Knowing that they had destroyed the weapon that had annihilated her home system took some of the edge off of that pain, but nothing would ever make it go away. All that she had left of her home were her memories and, thankfully, a few others who had escaped. Her thoughts turned to Poe and she smiled to herself.

“Mind if I join you?”

Eira looked up at the sound of Poe’s voice and patted the ground beside her, asking him to sit. BB-8 rolled over and stopped with a cheerful little noise that she understood to be a greeting. Her meal was nearly finished, but she had some time before she needed to return to work. Poe settled down next to her with his own meal. He had been to visit Finn just before coming to the lake. A comfortable silence settled between them for a while, nothing but the gentle waves against the lake’s shore, some birds in the trees and the occasional chirp from the droid.

“So…” he started, picking at a blade of grass.

“How long is it going to take me to live down most of your squad overhearing us?” she asked.

He blushed and looked at her sheepishly. “You don’t regret it, do you?”

“Of course not,” she said, touching his hand. “Well, I could do without everyone hearing us have sex, but nothing else.”

Grinning, he hauled her into his lap and then kissed her. BB-8 let out a surprised series of beeps and rolled away, which made them both start to laugh. Poe stroked her hair behind her ear and stole another kiss. She knew that she still had a lot of healing to do, and that this reunion wouldn't solve everything. It felt good to know that Poe would be by her side every step of the way. And that was enough for now.


End file.
